Hey all! With Zarina’s second birthday coming up in May, I decided to weigh her for the first time. She’s at 976g, just under a kilogram. I regret not weighing her when she was smaller, and now I’m wondering if her weight is okay or if I’m feeding her properly. A kilo seems a bit light, but she looks healthy to me. I’ve seen photos of boas that were too heavy or too thin, and Zarina doesn’t seem to fit either extreme. Based on her last shed, I’d say she’s about 140cm (4.6 feet) long, keeping in mind sheds are slightly longer than the snake.
Initially, I was hesitant about getting a female because I thought she’d get too big, but now I’m eager for her to grow more and a bit concerned she might be small. The breeder said her parents were on the smaller side, so that could explain it.
I’d love to hear about your boas! Could you share some photos along with their sex, age, and weight (if you know it)? I’m really interested in seeing boas of different ages.
From what I can see in the video, she looks good! 
Boas can vary pretty wildly in their ultimate adult size, which means their size at various stages of growth can also be highly variable. So long as you’re feeding at reasonable intervals and sizes, and so long as body condition is good (Zarina looks to be in great body condition from what I can see), then there’s really nothing to worry about.
My boa is a similar age, and she’s not any bigger than Zarina. If anything, she may even be a bit smaller.
@jawramik Could you share what size of food you’re giving her now? Do you know your girl’s weight by any chance? I’d really like to see your boa. My concerns probably started when ChatGPT mentioned that boas at this age typically weigh between 2.5 and 4 kg. I didn’t take it too seriously, but it got me curious to learn more.
Yeah, I wouldn’t trust ChatGTP as far as I could throw it for advice on animal health (or with much of anything else besides a good laugh).
I actually don’t really weigh any of my snakes routinely. I just eyeball prey size based on the width of the snake’s body, stick to a reasonable feeding interval, and figure growth will take care of itself. 
I feed my girl Lenore a small rat (which usually ends up being a bit bigger than a weanling) about every 10 days. I’d weigh the rat for you, but I’m currently out of town. I’ll try to weigh one in a few days when I get home. I could weigh Lenore at that time as well.
Here’s a recent picture of her stretched out over a shoebox-sized bin (again, don’t have the exact size on the bin and can’t currently measure it, sorry). She’s not quite 2 yet.
(Edit: it occurs to me that replying from an airport terminal to a post asking for measurements on things that are two states away at my home is not terribly helpful, sorry. 
)
You know Jennifer if you keep feeding her so well she is going to be quadruple that size in a couple of years! Just sayin!
Oh, thank you so much for the photo. Indeed, yours doesn’t look more massive than my girl. I read somewhere (I think in the comments on the boas and boas only group on Facebook) that the maximum prey for a boa should not exceed 10% of its body weight. If that’s true, I assessed it correctly, because Zarina is now getting rats/rabbits weighing 90g.
90g small/med rat seems ideal given her size. Looks like she might be able to take larger. You can increase the size if you dont see lump in stumach or feed just big enough so you barely see a lump. You need to feed biger prey if the snake can barley wrap the prey item. I would stay away from rabbit, chat gpt, and facebook. Load her up on higher fat content from rats and hold off on the rabbit until later in the life cycle. Give a good fasting during winter for muscle conversion and she will grow just fine. Her size will significantly increase by next summer. She should be on large rats by 3 years of age withought power feeding (175g to 275g).
Your boa looks to be in good health and shape to me for her size and age.
This is Aang he is 10 years old, 7’, and around 30 lbs.
This is Aphrodite she is 19 years old, 7’, and around 30 lbs.
This is Venus and KoKo they are 4 years old. I have not measured or weighed them.
These boas are 2 years old.
Both are girls but one is Anery het Kahl and the other is Anery Het Vpi. The het vpi is about 4 months yunger. Both are close to the age of your girl. 2.5 years old going on 3. They eat sml/med rats and should be on 100g rats to 175g rats by the end of this year or early next year. Significantly bigger in size by next winter. I prefer to feed and grow the snakes in accordance with that individual snake. Some grow fast with little food while others eat tons but dont grow. You get others that just eat and grow like crazy but they just slow down completely at year 3 or 4. In my experience, most snakes stay average size until 2 to 3 and then you will see the ones that really take off in size versus the ones that just take more time to reach maturity.
This girl is thin because she just dropped a litter 3 weeks ago. She was eating 175g med/lrg rats for the last 4 months. She recently ate 275g lrg rat and will probably eat something closer to a xxl/xxxl 425g rat in a few weeks because thats what she normally eats. I will keep her on rats but a rabbit for specific reasons might be in order for her towards the end of this year and during next summer.
Side note: Rabbits start around 300g have way less fat but are Significantly larger in bone mass and density.
Forgot to mention that she is 4.5 years and grew at an average pace.
Males dont get as big as females unless you pound them with food. Even then they will stay smaller. I keep my males close to the Anery size until 4 years then they start gaining girth since they wont get much longer. The next couple photos are from 2 year old males.
